I remember when I was new to daily fantasy sports, everything seemed overwhelming — but with my Fantasy Sports Twitter Tips you’ll be ready to cash in!

In my season-long fantasy football leagues things happened at a leisurely pace. That’s not to say there wasn’t an element of time involved, but rather that I had a buffer of a day or two before making major decisions that would affect my entire season. In daily fantasy sports the margin for error becomes much smaller. It’s only fair though, as a season-long league requires an entry fee before the year starts, and prizes aren’t paid out until after the regular season has finished. In daily fantasy sports you still have to pony up your hard-earned cash before the games start, but with contests lasting only a single day you receive an instant payout for your hard work — in most cases money is deposited back into your account on the same night!

Relax, using Twitter is not that hard!

Given the fast-paced nature of daily fantasy sports versus season-long fantasy leagues, learning to optimize your research process is one of the most important aspects of achieving daily fantasy sports success. There are an unimaginable number of resources available to the savvy fantasy owner, and most of you reading this have likely used one or more of them before. Websites, beat writers, publications, podcasts, the options are endless when it comes to collecting data. At the heart of every aforementioned resource though is a common denominator — Twitter.

To many, Twitter may seem like a mindless sounding board for celebrities and athletes to say the dumbest things imaginable to the largest amount people. It is that. But it’s also so much more.

Twitter is a conversation about whatever your interests or hobbies happen to be, and get this — the conversation never stops! Imagine having industry experts, skilled analysts, podcasts, articles, and stats from exponential sources all located in one convenient place, around the clock. Now stop imagining because that is the very essence of what Twitter can be if you’re willing to put in a little work setting it all up. As with anything worthwhile, you’ll only get back equal to the effort you put in. With these Fantasy Sports Twitter Tips you can streamline the process and eliminate much of the hassle involved with collecting data and staying up to date with your favorite sports.

Fantasy Sports Twitter Tips

Fantasy Sports Twitter Tip #1 – Use a Client

Fantasy Sports Twitter Tip #1 – Use a Client

The website itself is nice and all, but if you’re going to be using Twitter as a research and networking tool the actual site is not configured to allow for maximum efficiency. The downloadable client I use is TweetDeck (which is owned by Twitter). Tweetdeck allows you to customize your experience far beyond the basic offerings. You can separate accounts you follow into various columns which allow for easy access depending on which particular information you’re looking for. You can find a tutorial for how to set-up your TweetDeck experience here.

The only problem with TweetDeck is that it’s not currently supported for mobile. For on-the-go management I recommend the official Twitter app, but even it comes up woefully short in terms of customization when compared to the TweetDeck desktop app.

A solution to the mobile problem is to use HootSuite. HootSuite is a more business-oriented version of TweetDeck, thus making it a bit more complicated to learn. In the end it still offers the ability to customize your Twitter experience and streamline your research process though. If you find yourself using mobile far more often than a desktop or laptop it’s likely worth your time to lean HootSuite from the start. You can find a guide on how to set-up your HootSuite experience here.

Fantasy Sports Twitter Tip #2 – Make Lists For Everything

Fantasy Sports Twitter Tip #2 – Make Lists For Everything

Following people is great, but once you’ve reached a critical mass it becomes impossible to find information in a timely fashion. The solution to this is creating lists for each category of information you consume on a daily basis. The easiest way to explain the idea behind this concept is to take a look at my lists for yourself. You can find the lists I use on a daily basis here.

If you notice, some of the lists were created by me, while some were created by others and I chose to follow them. That’s right, you can follow entire lists of people at a time without the arduous process of clicking ‘follow’ on every single person you want in your ‘loop.’ Once you follow a list, all you’ll need to do is create a column for it in the downloadable client you’ve chosen to use and you’ll be ready to go!

One last thought on lists. While following lists is great, don’t let it completely replace actually following people. I certainly don’t reccommend you follow everyone on every list you utilize, but I do believe in rewarding hard-working Twitter denizens with a follow, and other forms or appreciation which we’ll discuss a little later. A good way to choose who you should follow is by keeping track of the people on your lists who are consistently providing useful information. Once you know someone is a “key player” in your Twitter experience give them a follow and interact! On the note of interacting we’ll move on to the next point in our Twitter tips…

Twitter is called a social network for a reason. Networking is always a hot-button issue, with various camps holding different ideas on what the best ways to accomplish it are. While I don’t have a simple solution or a system to sell you for three easy payments of $19.99, I can tell you that if you utilize the four concepts I mentioned in the header above you’ll build a steady networking presence over the natural course of your Twitter experience. Earlier I said that Twitter is like everything else in life in that you’ll only get out of it what you put in. While that’s true, if you’ve implemented Twitter Tips #1 & #2 you’ll be in a position to build your network with ease as you go about your normal daily process. I’m going to break down the significance of each type of network-building activity below.

1. Re-Tweeting Others – Re-Tweeting others is essentially letting the Twitter world know that you appreciate a particular quote, article, podcast, or whatever else the tweet may have contained. Don’t go overboard by re-tweeting endlessly though. That clogs up the timelines of the people who are following you, and is one of the quickest ways to find yourself unfollowed. Re-tweet the tweets that really impact you. For instance, I will generally re-tweet something that is funny, contains information I was not aware of, links to an interesting article, or in some way, shape, or fashion enriches my Twitter experience. My thought process is that those are the things the people following me are most likely to appreciate as well. It also serves as a digital high-five of sorts. Re-tweeting someone lets them know you are grateful for their post, and helps to build a networking opportunity with them. What you re-tweet in the end is dependent on your personality, so let it shine through!

2. Favoriting Tweets – Many people favorite the same tweets they re-tweet, but do not re-tweet as many as they favorite. Favoriting a tweet is best suited for more personal interactions that may not be interesting to your followers, but that you are appreciative of and want to remember. In fact, I use favorited tweets as sort of a ‘greatest hits’ snapshot of my interactions. It allows me to read back through my meaningful interactions quickly, and also lets the original tweeter know their words are appreciated.

3. Promote – Twitter is a great way to promote yourself and others, but you must be careful when doing so. Many people will become turned off from your tweets if you begin to resemble a commercial more than a string of original thoughts. I don’t believe there is a ‘magic’ number, but the standard I’ve set for myself is to never allow more than roughly 20% of my tweets to be about something I’ve written or am selling. I know this portion of the Twitter tips may not be relevant to everyone, but it’s important enough that I felt it needed to be addressed.

4. Interact, Interact, And Then Interact More – The only way to expand your network is by utilizing the above Twitter tips in addition to regular interaction. In the beginning of this article I highlighted how Twitter is one big conversation about whatever it is your’re interested in. If you’re not talking back then it’s not going to work! A question many people have at first is “what should I tweet?” Besides re-tweeting other’s work, the easiest way to come up with tweets is to simply post thoughts that cross your mind throughout the day. Did you or a friend make a funny joke over lunch? Post it. Did you have a “House M.D. moment” while researching? Post your thoughts on the matter. Read an interesting or funny article online? Post and link to it. The same goes with YouTube videos. Remember, if you enjoyed it there’s a good chance others may as well.

Another important aspect of my Twitter tips is using hashtags

Another important aspect of my Twitter tips is using hashtags. Hashtags are like the express lane for connecting with people who have similar interests or thoughts. For instance, if you tweet about which running back is going to have a huge game you should hashtag it with something like #fantasyfootball, or #patriots if that’s the team they play for. Twitter gives you the ability to search for any keyword you like, so if someone were to search for fantasy football they may very well see your tweet and respond to you. Searching for keywords that interest you is another way to strike up a conversation with someone who shares similar interests.

Inserting yourself into conversations with Twitter personalities you respect is another way to build your network. This must be done delicately, and always from a humble vantage point. Ask questions. Tell someone you hadn’t thought of it that way before and ask them to elaborate. Let them know they made a great point, but that you are concerned about this or that situation. It’s all about how you interact. If you act like an asshole it won’t be long before you build a reputation that precedes you. If you become known as a knowledgeable, appreciative tweeter that always has something of value to add to a conversation it will benefit you immensely in the long run.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your Twitter experience. I’m confident though that if you utilize the above Twitter tips you can build a meaningful Twitter presence that will greatly benefit your daily fantasy sports experience. Daily fantasy sports comes down to a battle of who is able to access and correctly predict the most information. By embracing Twitter you will significantly improve your prospects of becoming a long-term daily fantasy sports winner!

About the Author

CrazyGabey is a daily fantasy basketball, baseball, and football junkie. His beard could draft a better team than you.